In communication networks of the above mentioned kind, different schemes are used for determining which nodes that should have access to which slots, i.e. have the right to set up communication channels and start sending data using said slots. Such schemes include those that allow modification, over time, of which nodes that have access to which slots, for example to adapt to different nodes varying need for transfer resources or to adapt to the situation that nodes are added or removed from the link.
For example, WO9736402 discloses a communication network, wherein different nodes are assigned so-called ownership of different slots. A node that owns a slot has the right to allocate the slot for use by one of the communication channels handled by the node. This document also suggest that a slot that is owned by a first node may be temporarily “lent” to a second node, allowing the second node to temporarily use the slot for sending data, after which the second node “returns” the slot to the owner thereof. Furthermore, ownership to the slot can be transferred from one node to another, thereby transferring the right to control how the slot is to be used.
In networks of this and similar kind, it is vital to ensure that no two nodes send data using the same slot over the same link segment simultaneously, thereby risking to compromise each others traffic. This is sometimes referred to as ensuring that the allocation of slots is “conflict-free”.
The object of the invention is to solve the problem of how to efficiently allow and perform dynamic alterations in the network while at the same time ensuring conflict-free allocation of resources using a simple mechanism.